


All or Nothing

by ilikeyourshoelaces



Category: Original Work
Genre: College, F/F, F/M, Friendship, Humor, M/M, Minor Violence, Non-Graphic Rape/Non-Con, Rape Recovery, Romance, adrianne's pansexual, all that good stuff, lots of gayness, mentions and actions of bullying, transgender character, wacky adventures
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-04
Updated: 2014-04-04
Packaged: 2018-01-18 02:33:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1411732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ilikeyourshoelaces/pseuds/ilikeyourshoelaces
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Adrianne Oswald is a freshman in college and the last thing she expected was to have an albino, who is also a non-binary asexual.<br/>I stuck at summaries but here's the jist of it: wacky adventures, making friends with other queers, helping each other through hard times and bullying, a little bit of love, and stuff.</p>
            </blockquote>





	All or Nothing

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter 1

You're name is Adrianne Oswald and you are very excited for college. Maybe a little over excited, but you can't help it. You're finally moving out! Not to give the wrong impression though; your home life is nice and your parents are chill and all, but living somewhere else besides that two-story brick house is something you've been impatiently waiting for.

You're nearly jogging down the university's dorms in your eagerness, toting your black rolling suitcase over the river of beige carpet behind you as you search for your room. You can't wait to meet your new roommate. You wonder what she'll be like.

  
Will she like you? What if you don't get along? You hope you'll make a good impression.

  
You find room 13a with ease and dig your shiny new key out of your messenger bag, turning it in the lock. As it turns out, the door had already been unlocked and you just inadvertently locked it and jiggled the doorknob for a few seconds longer than was probably acceptable.

But before you can correct the mistake that dusted your cheeks pink the door clicks from the inside and opens to reveal a blonde woman with long curly hair.

Your embarrassment intensifies at the look of slight amusement on the other girl's face. "Hi, are you my roommate?"

You nod and smile a little. "Yeah, I'm Adrianne."

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Abby." She grins at you and let's you inside.

"Cool. My mom's name is Abby." You comment as you dump your luggage into the bed that doesn't have stuff on it. You assume it's yours. "Well it's actually Abigail, but everyone calls her Abby."

The blonde giggles and you realize you may have just babbled unnecessarily.

"Sorry. I'm really excited and nervous."

"Me too. But more nervous than excited."

"I hear ya." You turn to the bathroom door and remember that it joined with the room next door, 13b. "Have the other two showed up yet?"

"Lexis has." Abby replies, folding a pair of dark jeans and placing it in her wardrobe. "But her roomie hasn't yet."

"Should I go over and introduce myself?" You wonder, unzipping your suitcase abd emptying the contents gracelessly onto your twin sized bed.

"Lexis and I have been friends since fourth grade, so I'm sure she'll come over when she's done unpacking."

"Oh okay. I'll just put my stuff away right now then." You hang up your shirts, realizing starkly that over two-thirds of your tops were button-ups and the rest were tank tops. What can you say though? You love those kinds of shirts.

It takes a while to organize all your skinny jeans into the two drawers beneath your wardrobe, but you finally succeed in stuffing them all in. It's probably another hour of unpacking and setting up your things before a thin brunette enters the room through the adjoining bathroom, loaded up with luggage.  
You look up from setting the time on your little digital clock and are startled by the cold look of disgust on the young woman's face. It's not directed at you, though, nor at

Abby, who quirked a quizzical brow. 

"What's wrong, Lexi?"

But the woman gives you her attention instead, dark eyes cold. "You, change roommates with me."

You're surprised your eyebrows don't disappear into your hairline. "What? Why?"

"Just do it."

"Lexi, at least give us a reason." Abby stresses. "What's wrong with your roommate?"

The disgust on her face intensifies a little. "I can't stand her."

The blonde stares at Lexis in mild confusion.

"It's that Malachy girl from high school."

The questioning look clears up instantly into one of understanding and her blonde curls swish around her fair-skinned face when she turns to you. "Do you mind, Adrianne?"

Her expression is apologetic and you feel a little uncomfortable, seeing as you are almost finished unpacking. "Um, sure I guess. Just... let me pack up again."

"Sorry."

But you wave her off with a slightly forced smile and open your wardrobe drawers. "It's fine. At least it's happening now before I completely set up." You are such a liar.  
You unplug your clock and throw your clothes back into your bags. It's five minutes of uncomfortable silence and unwanted sympathy before you're ready to make the switch. You slide by Lexis, avoiding eye contact as you exchange keys, and step quickly through the shower-less bathroom into the other dorm room.

The room is identical to the other, with two beds, two wardrobes, two nightstands, and two desks on either side of the single curtain-less window. You pause a moment in the doorway, staring in utter shock at the young woman sitting on one of the beds.  
You can tell she's considerably smaller than you, but what really has you enthralled is the shock of white hair cut close to her ivory skin and the freckles that stand out starkly against the pale flesh. Her unearthly lavender-grey eyes fit perfectly on her strangely pretty face and everything about her seems.... colorless. But not in a bad way. No, far from it. She looks like some kind of celestial being of insane alien beauty and for more than a few moments you forget how to breathe.

"Is something wrong?" The voice that leaves those colorless lips is deeper than you'd expected, with a slight accent that might be Scottish, but you find it oddly fitting.

You start at her monotonous words. "N-no, sorry. I was surprised." Way to blow up your first impression. Jeez.

The woman tenses, eyes flashing silver in the window light. "I see."

You rush in to correct yourself. "Not that there's anything wrong! Not at all! I've just never seen someone like you before and I wasn't expecting it. I'm totally fine with you as a roommate, I swear, and I'm-- going to stop.... talking now. Sorry."

There's not much going on in the other's face, but she looks a little down. "It's fine."  
You feel like you should apologize again, but instead you place your things on the other bed and restart unpacking. You're already drained just thinking about having to do it all over again and you feel awkward with the tension between you and the other girl. You realize that, like an idiot, you haven't introduced yourself yet and turn to your albino roommate.

"I'm Adrianne, by the way." You are still a bit uncomfortable but you manage a small smile.

"Malachy MacMurra." Is the simple curt reply.

You nod awkwardly and look at your disarray of clothes. You try to organize, you really do, but your mind is protesting too loudly. You sigh. Maybe you can go look around the campus and unpack after dinner.  
So you stand and crack your knuckles, stretching your back before heading toward the door. You pause though, and turn to face Malachy. "I'm going to look around the campus and eat dinner and stuff. Do you.... want to come with me?"

You swear the albino's lavender-grey eyes widen, just a little, before she replies. "Um, sure."

You give her a small smile, glad that she's taking you up on your offer. "Cool. Let's let the other two know."

"You notice she visibly tenses and you quickly add, "Or I can tell them and you can meet me in the hall."

Malachy shakes her head, but you have a feeling she seriously considered it for a moment. "It's fine. I'll go with you."

You feel a little awkward again, but nod and lead her through the bathroom to the other room. You don't fail to notice how hesitant she seems, but she hasn't backed out yet, so you stay silent. You wonder what the reason behind her reluctance is.

Both Abby and Lexis are still unpacking when you enter the room and they look up at you in mild confusion. You see Lexis' gaze narrow at Malachy but you opt to ignore it for now.

"Hey, we're going to check out the campus and grab some dinner."

"Okay." Abby smiles a little at you and you instantly know it's not directed at Malachy at all. "Maybe we'll join you for dinner later. Are you eating at the café?"

You nod. "Yeah, I want to try the food on campus before heading out into town for grub. But anyway, I just thought we'd let you guys know."

"You sure you're not being dragged along, Adrianne?" Lexis comments unnecessarily, setting a pile of jeans off to the side.

Your hands find your hips in your irritation. "One thing about me is that I don't let anyone drag me anywhere I don't want to go. And in any case, I invited Malachy to come with me, so if anything, I'm dragging her along."

Lexis huffs and turns toward her wardrobe. "Whatever. I'm not going anywhere with her."

"Suit yourself then." You think maybe your tone is too callous, but at the moment you don't care. "But you and Abby are welcome to join us if you want."

You lead Malachy out into the hall and angrily check your back pocket for your wallet. The nerve of that girl! What's so wrong with Malachy that she wants nothing to do with her? Jeez, Lexis makes her angry already and it's only day one.

"Um," you snap out of your thoughts at Malachy's quiet voice, "sorry, but you.... you called me, uh, 'her'. So um, well.... sorry, it's dumb. Nevermind."

Intrigued, you incline your head. "What is it?"

Malachy figets nervously and takes a deep breath before continuing. "I actually.... prefer gender neutral terms."

"Oh okay. Sorry, I didn't know."

"No, it's okay. Sorry. I know it's dumb."

"No no, I'm glad you told me. I wouldn't want to make you uncomfortable by misgendering you." You wave her apologies away and smile. "Now let's go look around."

Malachy nods and she -- no, they -- follow you down the hall and out the form building. The air is already chilling off into fall. Although the sun is still hot on your skin, there's a slight cold breeze that blows in your face as you cross the courtyard to the main building. Malachy takes a deep breath of the fresh air and sighs contentedly.

You smile, thinking it's cute the way you can see the tension leave her body. Shoot, you mean their body. This is going to take some getting used to. You've never had a non-binary friend before, but if you hadn't known already that they're biologically female, you would've been completely stumped. It's a little confusing but also kinda cool.

You stroll across the green grass and into the three-story brick building, Malachy on your heels. They're glancing around with a slight nervousness that you suppose must be part of their nature. Maybe she -- they -- got bullied for their albinoism. You wonder what it's like to get picked on for the way you look. Of course, there was one boy that had always teased you for your eye color, saying that you had to have been wearing color contacts because nobody had eyes that green. But that's pretty much it.  
Malachy must've had a harder life. You realize that maybe you're one of the few people to accept her for her appearance. Maybe the first person. The thought makes you feel good, but then you scold yourself for being conceited.

You don't even know if Malachy considers you a friend. It probably won't be that easy for her, even if it is for you. But that's fine. You want to be their friend and you are willing to take as much time as is needed.

"Adrianne, this way."

Your train of thought is derailed by Malachy's deep voice and you realize that she -- crap, they-- had turned a corner and you had kept walking straight. You apologize and change directions quickly, trying to avoid stumbling. The entrance to the café is just down the wide hallway and to the right. It's a large room with an order and pick-up counter and several nice tables and chairs littered throughout the tile floor. It seems more like a cozy restaurant than a college cafeteria, but you suppose college things are usually this nice.

"This looks better than I expected." Malachy comments, looking around in approval in their unearthly grayish eyes. You're definitely going to need some time to get used to them and all their complexity. New people sure are interesting.

"Yeah, it does." You agree. "Should we eat first or keep looking and come back?"

They shrug. "Doesn't matter."

You're not really hungry at the moment so you back out of the café. "Let's explore a little more. Work up an appetite."

Malachy follows you wordlessly back foam the main hall and you slow down to fall in step with them. You wonder if you should make conversation or not but then they speak.  
"Um, so what's your major?"

"Oh, English. But I'm also minoring in Foreign Culture. I'm going to be a traveling writer."

"Wow, that's very ambitious of you."

"Yeah. First I've got to get a book published so I actually have traveling money and I'm looking for scholarships that will pay for a trip or two somewhere. But it's coming along. "

"Sounds.... adventurous." They say with a small smile.

"So what about you?" You ask casually, hands behind your back as you turn a corner.

They scratch their ghostly-white forearm nervously. "A-art major."

"Really? That's so cool. Me? I can't draw a stick man and make him look like a stick man." You laugh, delighted to hear Malachy chuckle along with you, covering their mouth in a half-attempt to be polite.  
You sober a little and continue more seriously, "I'd love to see some of your works sometime."

"You would?" They sound like they don't believe you, so you nod earnestly.

"Yeah. I may suck at it, but I can definitely appreciate the beauty of art." You insist.  
Malachy nods, obviously thinking. "Yeah, okay then. Maybe tomorrow after classes."

You smile so big you have to close your eyes, absolutely ecstatic about the prospect of seeing some professional level artistry. You're not even paying attention to the campus anymore, instead diving head long into a deep conversation with your new roomie. She -- oops, not again. They-- talk about their four cats and life in their home country. Turns out, they're from Ireland, but their family had moved to America when they were ten because their father had gotten transferred with his job. They don't say what he does for living and you don't ask.

You, in turn, tell them about your family and your current job at Logan's Roadhouse and how your two younger brothers are now in high school. You show Malachy a picture of you Labrador, Sylver, on your phone, where you keep an abundance of said photos.  
When you finally emerge from your long conversation, you don't know where you are. Malachy, fortunately, had brought their campus map with them and the two of you eventually find your way back to the café. Even if Malachy's sense of direction suck.  
You both are laughing and bantering lightly by the time you place your orders and claim a table. You don't remember ever making friends with someone so quickly in all your life. Which makes you think back to Lexis and her clear disdain for the albino girl and it makes you wonder what her problem is. Maybe you should ask Malachy.

But you don't get the chance, because someone's calling your name in greeting and when you look over your shoulder you see Abby approaching with Lexis on her heels, looking thoroughly discontented. You wave the blonde over and they take their seats at the booth, Abby sliding in beside Malachy and leaving Lexis to sit next to you.

"Glad we caught you. Did you already order?" The curly-haired blonde asks cheerfully, but it looks a little strained. You guess it was hard for her to drag her brunette friend to dinner.

"Yeah, we did." You reply.

"Alrighty then, we'll be right back." They both go up to the counter to order their own meals and Malachy visibly relaxes when they leave the table.

"So I hear you and Lexis didn't, get along in high school." You feel awkward again, Abby and Lexis had successfully ruined the light, friendly atmosphere you had built with the other.

They sort in what might be contempt. "You could say that." They sound bitter.

You don't press the subject and Abby and Lexis return before you can anyway, the former chattering excitedly about how good the food sounds. You smile and pick up the other end of her conversation. You could talk about food all evening.

You and Malachy receive your food first, and Abby's and Lexis's come a little later. They had both ordered sandwiches, while you had picked a nice vegetable soup with hot rolls and Malachy had gotten a cheeseburger with a huge pickle on the side.  
You dip on your root beer and make light conversation with Abby, trying to draw Malachy back into friendliness by bringing up art. Abby seems very into pencil sketches, but she says it's just a hobby and that she's majoring in nutrition. But after mentioning sketching, Malachy attempts to engage Abby in a small discussion about lead hardness and blending tools.

The blonde does look slightly uncomfortable talking to the other, but she loosens up a little after they ask about different techniques in drawing eyelashes and freckles. You feel a bit accomplished at opening the doorway to potential friendship between the two, and can only hope Lexis warms up to Malachy too. The brunette does seem somewhat civil for most of the meal, but when Malachy finally feels comfortable enough to laugh a little at one of Abby's jokes, the brunette abruptly stands and leaves the café.

Abby looks confused and Malachy wears a mask of nervousness. You furrow your brow as you watch Lexis storm out the doors, feeling a bit angry because you're almost completely sure she left because Malachy was having a good time.

"I'm going to go after her." Abby decides, wiping her mouth with her napkin before retreating into the hall with a quiet apology.  
You're fuming silently in your seat, glaring in the direction Lexis had gone. Just when you thought that things were going great, she up and ruins the mood. It would be a lie to say you aren't shaking with anger.

"Adrianne." Malachy calls you to attention, lavender-grey eyes solemn. "It's okay. Lexis has never liked me."

"But that's no excuse to be rude!" You exclaim, steaming.

The albino person smiles sadly. "Don't worry about it. It's just bad luck that we're roommates."

You huff and cross your arms, suddenly losing your appetite. "Okay, fine." You look down briefly at your mostly eaten bowl of soup, but you're too upset to finish it.

"Are you done? We can head back to the room, if you want." They offer, having finished their burger and monster pickle.

You nod, sliding out of the booth. "Yeah, sounds good. I'm tired."

Malachy nods too, following you back to the room silently. The silence is mostly your fault, because honestly you're nearly too angry and tired to speak.

You barely notice when you enter the room, Malachy having unlocked the door for you, and you just collapse onto your bed. You remember that you didn't organize your things but right now you don't care. You just shove all your clothes haphazardly into your wardrobe, knowing that you're going to hate yourself for wrinkling all your shirts. But right now, you really don't care.

You are way too emotionally exhausted. You don't even change out of your clothes and you've never been more grateful to go makeup free today. You just want sleep, but you have the decency to roll over and apologize to Malachy for running their evening.

They wave you off and turn out the lights, claiming that an early bedtime is much needed for both of you.  
You quickly drift off after your anger at Lexis dissipates into the black void of sleep. You don't dream that night, but what else is new?

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading. Hope you like. This was actually a prompt I found on tumblr about a pansexual and an asexual as roommates who have wacky adventures and I loved the idea so much that BAM! Here it is.
> 
> To be continued....


End file.
